


Descent

by Adolphus Longestaffe (adolphus_longestaffe)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Day 3: Under Pressure, M/M, golden era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 06:06:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17861753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adolphus_longestaffe/pseuds/Adolphus%20Longestaffe
Summary: Join our awesome little R76 server! We'd love to have you!https://discord.gg/bHwgPdM





	Descent

 

 

_From the great heaven the goddess set her mind on the great below. My mistress abandoned heaven, abandoned earth, and descended to the underworld._

_—Inanna’s Descent, Ancient Sumerian_

 

 

Blue and gold he stands above them, clothed in the seven vestments of his power. Above the sea of white flashes and black lenses, like circular cyclopean eyes, yawning wide to swallow the soul of a god. They hunger for him, cry out to him, lift their hands in worship and in supplication. The howling of their voices passes over his body like the roaring of the wind. The barbed arrows of innumerable adoring eyes glance unheeded from the aegis of his smile. He steps down from the podium, the first step in his descent from god to man.

 

At the first gate, he removes his golden smile, the first vestment of his power. Even then his steps are heavy, for he walks beneath the weight of ten-thousand cares. The diplomats and politicians, grey suited carrion birds that mutter and squawk demands, claw at him with hooked talons, ravening to tear bloody chunks from his hallowed flesh and carry them away. And still he passes on.

 

At the second gate he removes his arms, the second vestment of his power. Outside the fortress walls it is his duty as a warrior to carry his sidearm and wear his body armor, but within he has no need. He unfastens holster and chest plate, leaving them in the hands of the Sergeant at Arms. Blue-uniformed soldiers salute him as he passes on.

 

At the third gate he removes his token of entry, the third vestment of his power. His security badge is needed to access these highly guarded levels of the fortress. Once inside, he hands it to the Quartermaster and passes on alone.

 

At the fourth gate he removes his garment of office, the fourth vestment of his power. The iconic, brilliant-blue overcoat worn only by the Strike-Commander. He lets it slide heavily from his shoulders and hangs it on the coat rack in his office, before he passes on.

 

At the fifth gate he removes his uniform, the fifth vestment of his power. The royal blue jacket, with gold epaulets signifying his rank, and a jewel-toned panoply of medals displayed proudly at the breast. Along with this go his trousers, belt and boots. These are stowed neatly in their places, and he passes on.

 

At the sixth gate he removes his underclothing, the sixth vestment of his power. He peels away his white undershirt and socks, and his blue briefs, dropping them into the hamper in the bathroom before he passes on.

 

At the seventh gate he halts, and a voice speaks out his name. Not Strike-Commander, but Jack. Simply Jack. Thus he is stripped of his title, the final vestment of his power. The final step in his descent from god to man.

 

As Inanna knelt before Ereshkigal, he kneels before the god of the underworld. Naked, divested of the trappings of divinity. A god no longer. A man of flesh and blood at last, unburdened of the weight of the world, and his beloved takes him in his arms.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Join our awesome little R76 server! We'd love to have you! 
> 
> https://discord.gg/bHwgPdM


End file.
